Life term in murder of Worcester court worker

The overwhelming relief that justice had been served for Worcester court worker and mother of three Janice Santos came with one word from a Middlesex County jury yesterday — guilty.

Natalio Felix, the husband of Ms. Santos, was found guilty of murder in the first degree and will now serve life behind bars. Middlesex Superior Court Judge Kathe M. Tuttman issued the sentence which comes with no parole.

Denise Santos, the 38-year-old twin sister of Ms. Santos, said the June 8, 2011, murder of her sister rocked the family and the community. Once the verdict was read aloud yesterday, Denise Santos explained to her mother what it meant.

The pair wept while embracing.

The case was moved out of Worcester County because Ms. Santos worked at the courthouse.

“It was bittersweet,” Denise Santos said. “It was a huge load to come off. I know (Janice) is happy up in heaven.”

Mr. Felix, now 41, walked into the police station in Worcester the morning of the slaying and told an officer that he had just killed his wife. Ms. Santos, 37, was a supervisor of support staff in the Worcester Superior Court Probation Department. Mr. Felix was wearing her court identification when he walked into the station.

Mr. Felix strangled his wife in the family's 16 Huntington Ave. home. Two days before his wife was killed, Mr. Felix left the family home and went to live with his mother and stepfather in Worcester. The pair exchanged messages at the time about their marriage and, according to testimony, it appeared Ms. Santos was asking for a divorce.

With their two children, then 9 and 11, outside the bedroom door, Mr. Felix strangled Ms. Santos. He told the two children, Nathaniel and Natalie, that their mother was sick, before he took them to school.

The couple's two children, now 11 and 12, testified in court. Ms. Santos' oldest son, Ricardo Pereira-Santos, now 18, also testified. The children, now in the care of Denise Santos, still search for answers.

“They feel empty,” she said in the family's impact statement. “You ripped their hearts out by taking their mother away.” She said the children lost their mother, their “Momma Bear,” who will never unwrap presents with them or plan birthday parties.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett and Assistant District Attorney Terry J. McLaughlin, drew a response from the district attorney after the verdict.

“This has been an emotional and horrible set of circumstances for a lot of people who loved and cherished Janice Santos,” said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. “I'm proud of Dan Bennett and the prosecution team for their work on the case. This was a wonderful and beautiful mother who was murdered in a needless and senseless act.”

Denise Santos expressed appreciation of the legal system, a system her sister served proudly for more than a decade.

“I knew God and the justice system were going to do the job,” Denise Santos said, expressing gratitude to the prosecutors.

In the family's impact statement read in court by her sister, the family talked about the strength in Ms. Santos' faith, her love for her family and children. Mr. Felix destroyed the commitment he made to his wife, to forever cherish and care for her, the statement read.

“From this day forward, my family is closing this chapter and a new one begins,” Denise Santos said in the statement. “You, on the other hand, your mind will continue to do its job, torture you. Your conscience will be your worst enemy.”

Denise Santos, twin sister of Janice, wrote a poem about her sibling. It reads:

Together since birth, you couldn't find onewithout the other.Who would have known We would be torn apart foreverThe day you died and the way you left usWill be one I remember for all timeHow cruel, how selfish can man beTo rip the soul of the one you were meant to be!But Justice is one of the Divine Truths, God's Justice is fair and impartial, For it brings benefits to those who haveLived their lives selflesslyAnd punishes those who haveLived their lives selfishly.The Father in Heaven discerns upon the moral character of a man, For that is Justice.

Justice is fair and all-forgiving.It does what is fair and does what is best, It is the thing we all know as Truth, And today Justice was served!

I wish I had my twin by my sideJust thinking of her makes me cryNever being able to get to be with herHurts me inside everyday that goes byYou never came to say good-bye, the way you were snatched from out of sightI just wish I would have know own it would be the lastYou were a wonderful sister, daughter, mother and friendI can't believe, I have to go on without my twinYou will forever be a part of me… I love you always...Janice…my dearest twin!